The decisive factors for the growth of Moldova's GDP in the first quarter of 2021 by 1.8% were the resumption of investment activity, domestic consumption and economic activity in the real sector of the economy - Ministry of Economy.
As noted by the ministry, according to statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics, in January-March this year, the national economy entered an upward trajectory: the country's GDP amounted to 46.5 billion lei with a real growth of 1.8%. As noted in the sectoral department, by category of resources, the positive impact on the dynamics of Moldova's GDP in the first quarter of 2021 was made by the industries in which the revival was felt the most: wholesale and retail trade (+ 0.7% contribution to GDP), processing industry (+ 0.6% contribution to GDP), information and communications (+ 0.4% contribution to GDP), real estate transactions (+0.4% contribution to GDP), construction (+0.4% contribution to GDP), production and supply of electricity and heat, gas, hot water and air conditioning (+ 0.3% contribution to GDP), etc. The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure stressed that the positive dynamics of domestic retail trade and trade in services to the population indicates an improvement in demand from the population, leading to an increase in gross value added (GVA) by 4.5%. The industrial sector returned to an upward trend in the first quarter of 2021 and showed a result of +6.1% GVA. The energy sector had the greatest positive impact on the growth of the industrial sector, as well as, to the same extent, some manufacturing industries: light industry, furniture production, production of non-metallic mineral products, machinery, equipment, etc. Positive evolution continued in construction. The 5.5% increase was due to a 13.5% increase in the volume of new construction work and an 18.6% increase in ongoing repair and maintenance work. Also, the volume of construction work in residential buildings increased by 16.6%, and engineering and construction work - by 15.7%. The IT sector grew by 6.5% in the first quarter, and this dynamics is largely due to the recovery in demand for IT services and information services, a policy favorable to the development of the sector, in particular, a clear tax regime in which residents of the virtual park Moldova IT Park work, etc. As noted in the sectoral department, the increase in domestic consumption and imports led to an increase in revenue from taxes and duties on goods and services in the national public budget, and, as a result, an increase of 8.6% in net taxes on products had an impact on GDP by 1.2%. On the demand side, GDP growth was driven by increased investment and consumption by the population. The increase in domestic demand contributed to the growth of imports of goods and services by 7.1% (in real terms), while exports decreased by 12.3%. Accordingly, net exports had a negative impact and subtracted 8.2% of GDP growth. The Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure stressed that the positive dynamics of investment activity was determined by a number of factors, including the improvement of the conditions for lending to the economy, the continuation of projects of foreign investors, infrastructure projects, public procurement of public urban transport and ambulances. At the same time, gross fixed capital formation increased by 14.2% and contributed to GDP growth by 2.9%. The department drew attention to the fact that, after a continuous decline in the previous year, household consumption is gradually returning to a positive trajectory (growth + 2.8% and contribution to GDP + 2.4%) as a result of an increase in disposable income (salaries, remittances from - abroad in favor of individuals through banks), as well as increasing consumer confidence in the current state of the economy and the prospects for economic growth after mitigating the effects of the pandemic.// 18.06.2021 — InfoMarket
